Dean Gary Raskob (University of Oklahoma) testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) at a hearing entitled “Health Care Reform Legislative Options.” Dean Raskob began his testimony by noting “The culture of the health care system in the United States needs to be transformed from one that emphasizes treatment…to a different paradigm – in short, a culture of wellness.” In response to the current bill, Dean Raskob highlighted four over-arching elements that are key to creating a culture of wellness.
First, Dean Raskob acknowledged that the bill underscores the importance of the full spectrum of prevention, from community-based primary prevention to clinical preventive services. Second, the bill recognizes the importance of the community, the school and the workplace as critical locations for implementing prevention and wellness efforts. He expressed ASPH’s support of providing tax incentives to encourage employers to adopt workplace wellness and prevention programs that are evidence-based. Next, Dean Raskob highlighted the need for sustained and expanded public health research, especially in the areas of prevention and public health systems, including comparative effectiveness research. In closing, Dean Raskob emphasized the importance of addressing the broad public health workforce needs.
A full copy of the Dean Raskob’s testimony is available here. In addition to his testimony, Dean Raskob also submitted the ASPH Policy Brief titled “Creating a Culture of Wellness: Building Health Care Reform on Prevention and Public Health.”
The hearing included an extensive list of witnesses. Among those witnesses were Dr. Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health; Dr. Katherine Baicker, professor of health economics at the Harvard School of Public Health; Mr. Ron Williams, CEO of Aetna Inc.; Mr. Dennis Rivera, chair of Service Employees Internati onal Union; and Mr. Steve Burd, president and CEO of Safeway, Inc.
